


Klance - undertow

by Anonymous



Category: Voltron - Fandom, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Foreign Exchange Student AU, Lance's family - Freeform, M/M, klance fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-24 09:53:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19721284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: After staying with the McClain's for a summer, Keith's life catches up with him. Forcing him to push aside his childish ways and grow up. Unfortunately for lance this means throwing away the summer they shared seven years ago. But Keith's back in town for three months and lance makes it his Personal mission to 'fix' Keith.Will they rebuild lost bonds, and at what cost?(basically the exchange student AU nobody asked for)





	1. a dusty beginning

Lance dropped his fiberglass board as he slid one leg out of his damp wetsuit. Dropping it to the floor once he was free of its cold shackles, he cringed at the satisfying slap as the wet neoprene hit the wooden slats of the front porch.

"Ugly children, the kettle's boiled, come sit!" Lance heard from inside. Lance's smile grew once he stepped inside, smelling burnt toast and coffee, he loved mornings like this, peaceful.

"Coming Ma, just left me get dry first!" he called out as he entered his room. Lance upended his laundry hamper in search of his warmest sweatpants and even warmer jumper. Even though it was April and summer had just been, the surf was cold and the brisk jog up the dunes was getting colder and colder as the days went by.

"Hurry up, or Veronica and Mateo will have eaten everything!" Ben called jokingly from the doorway. Lance smiled as he found a pair of socks and chased his younger brother down the hallway. The two boys were wise enough to stop their friendly antics before entering the kitchen, Ben groaned at the sight of a fully set table, complete with bone china mugs and white embroider placemats. "Ma, why the banquet?" Lance asked as he hugged his mother and took the carton of milk from her hand

"Sit down Lance, were going to discuss this over food." his mother declared as she led him towards the table, grabbing Ben on the way over. "That's what McClain's do, they eat!"

Veronica rolled her eyes and before she could argue Ben shoved a scone in her mouth, Lance and Ben both laughed at her daggers.

"Now kids," Lance's mother started, taking a sip of tea, Lance wasn't sure if she was trying to create suspense, but she was doing a brilliant job regardless, "How was your week?"

"Cut the crap, my oil-paints drying as we-" Veronica started before Ben stuffed another scone in her open mouth. Lance shot daggers at Veronica as she shot a look disappointed between the two.

"Have the oil paint fumes gone to your head?" Ben hissed into his sisters' ear, making sure Veronica was the only one in earshot. "this is when she says were moving to New Zealand or something like that, so shut up!"

"You were saying, ma?" Lance asked softly. Their damage control was a two-pronged attack, Ben clogged the leaks while Lance mopped up the mess, they'd spent their entire childhoods perfecting it, so they had it down pretty well.

"Well I'll get right to it." she said throwing loving daggers across the table to Veronica. "do you remember young Mr Kogane?"

Silence fell over the table. Veronica and bed ceased their fighting to think, Mateo was in another world and Lance: Lance was stuck in a memory, stuck between what was true and what his brain had made up to soother the pan of being abandoned. The only thing Lance was sure of he didn't know the boy anymore.

"The name rings a bell." Lance said, letting his mind wander to what kid Kogane would look like now. He was a scrawny pale kid, but it never bothered Lance. The two boys bunked in Lance's room because Keith was terrified of the attic. Lance enjoyed Keith's company and promised to keep in touch, which they stuck to for about six months. Then one day Keith stopped writing back, stopped texting and stopped liking Lance's Instagram posts, which hurt him more than he'd let on.

"Oh yeah, he's totally not that little hottie on your wall, in the polaroid!" Veronica cut in

"Veronica, for memory didn't you ask to marry him?" Ben stabbed back in deep in mock thought,

"Yeah, I was hot shit in my youth." Veronica rolled her eyes and tried to keep her smile to herself. "Can we talk about Hayley yet?"

"Children." Lance's mother spoke softly "Well I signed us up to have him again, he's going at the end of the month." Her smile was warm and hopeful.

"What! The end of the month! Ma, that's half a week!" Veronica said, her eyes like saucers and hands flailing in the air like a Looney-Tunes cartoon. "Where will he sleep! And why are we only just finding out about this now?"

"Because I knew you'd react like this." She smiled, patience wearing into her titanium smile. "Veronica your sweating, Ben your jaws on the ground and Lance-" all eyes were now on Lance whose eyes were stuck on a wave out past the sandbank, it was brewing up nicely. "Lance dear, are you with us?"

"Yeah." Lance said, slowly pulling himself back to the kitchen table "I'll clean out the attic." Lance cringed at the callus in his voice, his mother didn't know the two boys had stopped talking, Lance had been lying for years, he didn't want to break her heart, she really liked Keith.

"Sorry, Samurai, right?" Ben asked. "Black hair, he taught Lance to skate?"

"That's him, well the schools having another exchange, and his foster father Shiro is part of the department." Her smile had now infected its way onto Veronica and Ben's tan faces, "Three months, Lance. Can you handle it?"

Lance wanted to scream. To scream at Keith and younger Lance. His lies finally caught up with him. He should've been a better host to Keith so he would be happy to see him, so he didn't have to lie to his mother about the letters. From what Lance could remember, Keith was a fun kid, but that was seven years ago, in elementary school. The Keith Lance remembered wouldn't have left him puzzled for seven years. "Sure thing, Ma!" Lance smiled. He had to bottle up his fears or the seven years he'd spent lying to his mother would all come toppling down on him. "It'll be like he never left!"

Lance's mother smiled widely at Lance; her enthusiasm was electric because after Lance's hopeful words his siblings began chattering about the things they could show Keith. Lance grew tired of hearing the hypotheticals that were being thrown around the table, so he got up and excused himself. As soon as Lance was in his room he was on the phone with Pidge and Hunk.

Lance spent the next hour screaming at his friends, by the end of the call hunk was the only person still listening. The only important thing that came of the call was that Samurai boy was back and Lance needed muscle to clean the attic.

—

After the long day spent in the attic, lance and the others were proud of their efforts. Keith would have to be a grade-A snob if he didn't want to stay in it now.

Lance waved his friends off and ran back inside to the warmth. He headed for the fireplace. He made himself comfortable on the bricks and he let his mind wander out to the beach and past the crashing waves. He tried this best not to think about Keith, he'd spent most of last night doing that and now his head hurt.

"Lance sweetie, why the long face?" His Mother asked as she placed a hand on his shoulder and sat beside him, "marvellous work upstairs too, I'm sure he'll love it."

Lance gave her a pained smile. "What if he's changed?" Lance asked, he knew his mother was aware that something was on his mind, so it was no use trying to lie to her.

"Lance, I promise he's changed, but he'll still be the Keith you know from the letters." His mother's smile was like thousands of little knives stabbing into his chest. He wanted to scream at himself, to scold past Lance for being so stupid. Lance was so angry he couldn't form words, so he smiled warmly and flung an arm around his mother. They both sat there for a while, looking over at their slice of heaven as the moon covered it in a thick layer of darkness.

\--

The next thing Lance knew a bright light was beaming in his eyes. Lance slowly sat up and wiped sleep from his eyes. He craned his head around and saw his father sitting in the reclining chair beside him, he was watching the news with a scolding hot cup of coffee on his leg.

"Pa!" Lance gushed. "Your home early!"

He smiled at Lance through his thick rimmed glasses. "Yes, we have a guest sometime between now and tomorrow, its only polite." Lance got up and gave him an awkward hug, he hadn't seen his father in a month, and he doubted he'd be around for his usual break. Lance poured himself a cup of coffee and went in search of his wetsuit.

"How long are you hear for?" Lance asked as he stood with his board in the doorway. He tried to shield it from his fathers view as much as possible but it was a futile attempt.

"Just a few days, until Keith's settled in." His father had muted the news while speaking to Lance, which put and extra layer of intensity of the object in his hands. "You still do that?" He asked gesturing towards the yellow fiberglass board under Lance's arm.

Lance cringed and let out a "yep" as he closed the door, ending that conversation before things got out of hand. He slid into his partially damp suit and ran down the dunes. He spent the better part of the day surfing. The swell was good, and the wind was warm, so Lance's fingers didn't get cold too quick. When he was younger, he'd surf for hours in winter, it got to the point where his fingers lost feeling and he couldn't grip his board, and hypothermia was always a worry. But nothing could stop him.

It was around two in the afternoon before Lance made his way back. The house was silent. His Ma and Pa were watching a black and white movie in the lounge, Mateo was in his room playing with Lego, Veronica was painting and Ben was playing Smash Bro's in Lance's room, so by default he connected a controller and joined his brother on the floor. The two boys played long into the night.

After Ben fell asleep on the floor Lance turned off the TV and carried him to his own bed. Once Lance was sure everyone else was asleep, he opened his phone and went into the old messages Keith and he exchanged. They were full of cat photos and so un-funny memes about poop emojis. It was an odd thing to do because Keith was genuinely right at the bottom of his recent messages and the timestamp that came along with the messages was daunting: six years ago.

Before the thought of having a practical stranger staying in his house went to Lance's head, he went in search of the Polaroid from way back when. He scrabbled through draws of useless stuff Lance didn't have the heart to throw our until he found it. It was old and tattered, but the photo was still clear. He smiled as he held it in his hands. "Fucking idiot." He scolded to himself, but he wasn't entirely sure who he was referring to.

\--

Lance woke to screaming, he thought someone was being murdered. He shot up out of his bed and ran out into the hallway, running into Ben's room to find him equally concerned but alive, then he ran to Veronica's, she wasn't in there, so the two boys ran down the stairs. Once Lance's feet met the hallway rug it was very apparent who was screaming and why.

It was almost as if a record has scratched but in person, it was like a punch in the stomach while stepping on a Lego brick while your mum asks if you were watching porn all at the same time. It wasn't the kind of thing worth screaming over no, but there he was.

Lance was standing at the bottom of the stares in boxer shorts death-staring the devil himself.

"Hello, Keith"


	2. the first

"Your." Lance paused as he examined Keith, wracking his brain for the right words. He'd grown into his long legs, and in comparison to the rest of his post-pubescent body, they weren't that long now.

"Your very naked!" Veronica cut in, her eyes blown out of their sockets from ogling at the grizzled boy beside her. "Lance where are your manners, don't you think Keith deserves dinner first!" The room erupts in awkward laughter, all except Lance. He's got a mental photo of ten-year-old Keith and present Keith, and he's trying to connect the dots but he keeps coming up empty-handed. he's a completely different person, all except for his pale skin and jet-black hair.

"Yeahhh." Lance hissed as he ran a hand through his hair, "be right back, buddy." Lance said as he promptly turned away and ran up the stairs. As he hurried up the stairs, Lance was mentally kicking himself for calling Keith "buddy" like he was a little kid, or something equally patronising. Lance threw on the first clean hoodie he could find and ran back downstairs. Pausing for a brief second to hype himself up. Once Lance was fully hyped, Lance walked into the living room. Keith and his family were all sitting on the wooden outdoor setting, Lance slid open the glass sliding door and joined his family at the table.

"Lance! Keith was just telling us about how he got a scholarship to Stanford." Veronica gushed as she eyeballed the back of Keith's head. Lance was honestly kind of disgusted by the lack of control Veronica possessed and how dense Keith was about her goggling.

"That's awesome." Lance said as he pulled out a chair and sat down between Ben and Keith, he gave Keith a toothy smile and held out a hand, "don't think we've properly been introduced, the name's Lance."

Keith couldn't help but smile, he took Lance's hand. "Don't think we have, my names ke-" his voice wavered as their hands came in contact, it felt like a thousand volts of electricity ran through his hand. Keith pulled away and held his hand in shock, he wasn't sure if he was touch starved or if Lance had zapped him, all he knew that he was far too embarrassed to meet eyes with lance. "Keith, that's my name." he chuckled awkwardly, trying to play off whatever that was.

"Anyway," Ben cut in throwing a warm bun at Lance, "Mateo and I are going into town to catch the toy store, the little bastard-"

"Benjamin!" Lance's mother cautioned with a butter knife in hand, "none of that vile language, especially with a guest in presence!" Her voice sounded rough and loving at the same time, Keith was convinced that tone was only possible for a mother to achieve.

"Mateo ran up to the lighthouse and back in fifteen minutes!" Ben continued, paying his mother's words no outward regard. Keith looked between the two in silent question. Lance caught in and misread it for question of where the point was. He lightly slapped Keith's shoulder with the back of his hand and pointed towards a tall red and white building.

"There." Lance half-whispered as he lent closer to Keith, trying not to disturb Ben's conversation across the table. "The best waves are past the point, but Ma says there's sharks so we don't usually go that far down. The closer you get, the better the swell." Keith looked at Lance gob-smacked, his voice was almost the exact same as he remembered, whispering to him in the early morning. But it was deeper, for a second Keith mourned the loss of small Lance's voice.

"Probably for the best." Keith said half assed, he was trying to listen to Lance but he was caught off guard still by the zap.

"Where's your sense of adventure?" Lance said jokingly, he was trying to insight something in Keith that wasn't there. Whether the thing Lance was looking for was there, or if it was clouded by jet lag, only one thing was for sure: Keith was tired, hungry and shocked, he didn't feel much else.

"Sorry, I'm just tired." Keith admitted as he rubbed his eyes and gave his attention back to the rest of the McClain's

"Keith darling, if your tired, Lance can show you to your room?" Lance's mother offered as she took a sip of her tea and surveyed the two boys.

"Oh no, I'm fine, thanks." Keith said as he faintly smiled at the woman in front of him, she gave him an "I'm not fooled by this act" look and Keith's walls crumbled, "are you sure-, I just got here. I don't want to be rude?"

The woman smiled understandingly, "nonsense!" she said as she swatted at him. "If you're tired the festivities can wait." Keith smiled timidly.

"Besides kid, you're not going to be much company if you're tired!" Lance's father cut in, looking over his paper at Keith, his smile was empathetic but his eyes were in soundless questioning.

"Come on, man." Lance said as he placed a hand on his shoulder and stood. "You look like a stoned fish." Keith looked up at him, his smile was solid.

"Stoned fish!" Mateo cried as he prodded bread sticks into his boiled egg, his face was covered in jam and his smile was weirdly spread across his face. He knew what he did. Keith didn't need to be fully awake to know that this was their time to leave, so he shot up and followed Lance back into the house. As they stepped into the kitchen, Keith heard Lance's mother call out something in rabid Spanish.

Keith grabbed his duffel bag and went for his suitcase but Lance intercepted. "Dude I've got it, you don't have to!"

"Keith." Lance said, unimpressed by his arrogance, "Let me have this, you look like shit." Keith stepped back and put his hands up in defense. Lance smiled and flung Keith's bag over his shoulder. Keith followed Lance up a set of stairs. Photos of Lance, his siblings, cousins and extended family lined the walls from floor to ceiling. Keith couldn't help but smile back. There were a few photos on display at Keith's house, all of them were either Shiro or him, mostly professional mug shots or school photos, hidden from the world by brass corners and glass sheets. But these were raw photos, some in frames, some simply stuck on with tape.

"You're not still scared of the attic, are you?" Lance asked as he paused in front of a cupboard door. Keith let out a weary smile and shook his head. Lance grimaced as he turned and opened the door. A slow creek erupted out of the door and another set of stairs was unveiled. Lance flicked a smile back at Keith as he entered the darkness.

"Now be nice, it's rustic but it's got the best view in the house." Lance half chuckled as he turned the doorknob and drenched the two in golden rays.

"You should but that on a novelty mug!" Keith joked as he panned around the room. The room was the most beautiful attic he'd ever seen. The walls were a raw kind of timber, there was a green sofa bed pushed up against the closest wall, beside the bed was a chest of draws covered in candles, shells and other beachy nick-knacks. One thing that stood out was a chunk of wood that read: "when life isn't going right, surf a left." which made Keith smile for reasons unbeknown to him. Keith's eyes wandered across the room, past the pile of old comic books beside the bed, to the massive window overlooking the most pristine piece of beach Keith had ever seen, he felt like he was in a scenic river cruse add. He wandered over to it and crouched down, like he was in a trance or something.

"Beautiful isn't it?" Lance asked as he joined Keith beside the window. They both stayed that way until Keith yawned and threw himself off balance, falling backwards onto the wooden floor below. With a grunt he joined Lance standing, he smiled wordlessly at Lance and Lance laughed.

"Jesus dude, you look wrecked!" he laughed as he threw a hand on Keith's shoulder in remorse.

"Thanks, asshole" Keith chuckled sarcastically as he shot Lance a mock frown.

"Take it with a grain of salt." he said as he swatted at Keith's frown, "Get some rest, Mum and the others will wait until your re-charged." Lance patted Keith's shoulder and stepped back, making his way to the door.

"I feel bad, I just got here!" Keith insisted as he looked helplessly at Lance.

"Don't sweat it!" he said coolly, "You get some sleep and I'll make an excuse for you. Door locks from the outside, toilets last door on the right if your not game to use yours." He said as he flicked a switch beside the door frame, "sleep well, samurai!" Lance joked as he began to close the door behind him.

"What?" Keith spat out, stopping Lance instantly, "what'd you say?"

"Samurai?" Lance questioned, opening the door and stepping back in the room, "sorry, it's kinda lame, it used to be your nickname."

"I remember." Keith said as he smiled awkwardly, "it's not lame, sharpshooter." Keith smiled and they both laughed. Lance nodded as he turned around and descended the stairs.

For the first time in twenty-four hours Keith was alone, he reveled in it. Slowly unpacking the clothes he knew Shiro would scold him for if they didn't get hung up. Keith laughed as he pulled out a random piece of graph paper from one of his coat pockets, the letter read:

Hey buddy,

Hope this letter finds you in good spirits,

Adam and I hope Australia is treating you well, and that Lance and the McClain's are just as warm as you remember. Adam insisted that we packed you a surprise   
gift, it's in one of your shoes. Hope you have an Awesome three months.

Love Shiro and Adam.

Keith's cheeks hurt from smiling so hard. He folded up the piece of paper and slid in in the front pocket of his suitcase. Keith pulled out a pair of converse and checked the inside, nothing. Then he pulled out a pair of thongs and threw them at the door, finally he pulled out his pair of grippy socks and felt a strange weight inside. His mind went back to the conversation he and Adam had, whether the grippy socks were classified as shoes or not, the result was inconclusive. Keith dug his hand in and pulled out a pack of blue-tack with a sticky note that read; "incase you fall off!" Keith laughed dumbly and put the blue-tack alongside the folded-up piece of paper in the front pocket. He stumbled over to the pull-out bed and collapsed into the sea of blankets.

\--

Keith woke up to a poor rendition of Walk the Moon's "shut up and dance with me" from below him. From the tone of the singing and the almost silent Mario Bros theme in the background, he'd have to guess it was Ben. Keith tried his best to ignore it, and go back to sleep; but his brain was fully awake and the sun was beaming right down on him, cooking him like a hot pocket.

Keith reached for his phone, when the display flashed a red empty battery, he let out a strangled huff and threw it to the foot of the bed. Keith groggily hobbled to his suitcase, pulling out a sweater and heading for the door. Once Keith was through the creepy stair/closet, he headed for the main staircase. Keith had absolutely no idea where he was going, heck he didn't really know where the communal toilet was.

"Hey man, have a nice nap?" he heard from a half closed doorway.

"Yeah, thanks." Keith said, totally out of it and unsure who was speaking to him. Thankfully he heard a controller hit floorboards and Ben's faced popped out, plastered in a beaming smile.

"Lance told me not to wake you or he'd kill me, and Ma said she wanted to see you, something about shopping." Ben said as he swung on the door frame aimlessly

"Thanks, it'll be our secret!" Keith said as he shot Ben a single finger gun, Ben laughed and pretended to be knocked back by Keith.

"Good man, pretty sure Ma and Pa are downstairs." Ben said as he gave Keith a thumbs up and waved him off

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> instagram - creased.jpg  
> wattpad - creased  
> tumblr - thot-tea-ana


	3. the second

Keith's feet met floorboards with a rather loud thud, he cringed as it echoed off the walls and down the hall. He gave up on his element of surprise and continued down the hallway.  
"Keith, darling!" He heard from the lounge room, he cringed even harder when he realized how loud he really was. He did a walk of shame and followed the voice.  
"Hey." He said awkwardly as Keith stood in the doorway. Lance's mother was cooking some sort of pastry in the kitchen and his father was sitting at the kitchen counter reading a very worn novel.  
"Come sit, we made tea, and if that's not your thing, coffee only takes a minute to brew." She smiled back at him as Lance's father pulled out the stool next to him and gestured for Keith to sit.  
"Tea's great thanks. I'm so sorry I slept so long." Keith admitted as he sat down beside Lance's father.  
"Not a worry, you looked like something a cat dragged in." Lance's father said with a smile as he folded over the corner of his book and closed it, placing it on the newspaper stack beside him.  
"It was a really long flight!" Keith laughed in return. Lance's mother placed a mug of tea in front of him, smiling widely.  
"You and Lance are going to have the house to yourself this afternoon, Sundays are always a busy day for us!" She smiled as she watched intently as Keith sipped at the tea. He couldn't tell where he'd encountered such an odd flavor of tea before, but his taste buds remembered the flavor, it's a hard thing to forget. "We're going shopping, is there any foods you can't live without?"  
"Nope, I'll eat anything!" Keith laughed again, his impulsive honesty earnt a snicker from the man beside him and a shy smile from Lance's mother.  
"speaking of fussy, Lance has been out for a while." She admitted as her thoughts trailed off, she was looking past the two men at the bench and out at the crashing aqua waves.  
Keith raised a brow in question. "Out where, it's coming on dusk?"  
"Oh, he's been out surfing!" She gushed proudly. "He's been at it since you went to sleep."  
"Wow, that's a fair while." Keith said as he looked up at a driftwood clock that hung above the toaster, the little hand resting on the five o'clock mark. He hadn't checked the time when he went to sleep but he was pretty sure he'd been out for at least four hours.  
The three of them sat there and finished their cups of tea, conversing in Smalltalk like long lost friends, and although that's what they were, in a sense. Keith was too young to remember Lance's mothers soft pale eyes, or the way his father's chiseled jaw bent like an angle his math teacher had drawn on a whiteboard, only this one was dotted in unkept grey hairs and it didn't make Keith want to gouge his eyeballs out every time he looked at it. Keith couldn't even remember their first names, all he could remember was that they all had very Spanish names, because it made him feel like he was in Mumma Mia, not some sand ridden town in Australia.  
"Well we should go shopping, if you want to eat this week!" Lance's Father laughed as he pushed off the kitchen bench and stood. He walked up to his wife and placed his hands on her shoulders, squeezing gently as he massaged the stress out of her shoulders.  
"Oh crumbs!" she exclaimed as she leaped out of her husband's grasp and headed for her handbag. "The shops close that six, Keith could you be a darling and get Lance out, he'll be frozen by now!"  
Keith nodded in compliance as she threw a towel, a pair of grey tracksuit pants and a blue jumper at Keith. He watched Lance's father run up the stairs and call for Mateo, Veronica and Ben. Keith didn't bother to stick around, he crept out the sliding door, throwing Ben a wave on his way down to the driftwood track.  
His feet met the cold sand that lay in the shadows of the dunes as he placed his feet on the haphazard pieces of driftwood that lead to the beach. The path was lined with shells and rocks all ranging from different sizes and colors, Keith smiled to himself as he laid eyes on a sun-bleached Mario amongst the shells. He heard the crash of waves and a happy cry out from Lance. Keith picked up his pace as he neared closer to the ocean. Once he was there, he stood mesmerized on top of the dunes. The sun was setting over the beach and the beach weeds were catching the sunset in the most aesthetically pleasing ways, it looked like something out of the movies.  
"Keith!" Lance called out as Keith turned his head to meet Lance. before Keith saw Lance, he saw a girl with dark skin and white long hair, she stood tall and proud with a pink surfboard neatly tucked under her arm. Before Keith had any more time to put a name to her face, Lance was smashing into his side with a spear tackle.  
"Shit Lance!" Keith breathed out as he tried to keep his balance. The two boys fell into the sand, Lance laughing beside him. He offered Keith a hand up, and like an idiot he took it. Once the two boys were standing, Lance tried to throw his wet arm around Keith's very dry shoulders, but Keith wasn't having any of it. He shoved the other boy off him as they both laughed. Keith's futile attempt for freedom ended in being caught in a headlock.  
"Allura, this is the guy I was talking about!" Lance said as he used his free hand to gesture for her to come closer. She obediently jogged over laughing as Keith freed himself from Lance's grip and shoved him away. "This is Keith, he's our American exchange student!" Lance said as he threw a sloppy arm around Keith's shoulders.  
"It's a pleasure to meet you!" Allura said as she stuck her hand out in greeting, Keith paused for a second before he exchanged the gesture, shaking her hand and sending her a warm smile. "I hope Lance doesn't kill you before your due home!"  
"Hey, Keith and I have a great time, don't we Keith!" Lance interjected as he let Keith go, putting his hands up in mock defense. Keith and Allura both laughed and Lance gave them a mock frown.  
"Yeah, like a house on fire!" Keith joked sarcastically. The three teens were all laughing now.  
"Well I best be off; it was wonderful meeting you, Keith." Allura smiled and gave Keith a hug. she was cold but not even close to wet in comparison to Lance.  
"It was nice meeting you too, I'll see you around!" Keith said as the two boys stood and waved Allura off. Once she was gone Lance turned to Keith, silently inspecting Keith's profile before Keith interrupted him by turning his head to look back at Lance.  
"She seems nice." Keith admitted as Lance grabbed his arm and lead him to the top of the closest sand dune. Lance hauled Keith up the hill as he stumbled up the uneven sand, once they were up the top Lance yanked him down so the two were perched in the last bit of sunlight. The sun was warm at their back as they looked over the partially shadow tinted beach.   
“Yeah, she’s great!” Lance said as he looked back over the beach. Keith stifled a laugh and Lance sent him daggers. Lance laughed in annoyance, “no no no no! your what’s wrong with the world Keith, were just friends! Besides I’m not her type!”  
“Jesus, Lance I didn’t say anything, defensive much?” Keith joked as he elbowed Lance in retaliation.   
“You didn’t have to; your face did the talking!” Lance insisted as he gestured to Keith. The two boys both laughed and silence fell over the two once again. “Hey um, is that mine?” Lance asked gesturing at the clothes Keith had tightly in his grip.   
“Uhh shit.” Keith said as he let out a breathy laugh and handed Lance over his clothes. “Your mum gave them to me to give to you, it totally slipped my mind.” Keith admitted as Lance looked over his clothes and smiled.  
“And here I was thinking you were just that creepy you wanted to canoodle my clothes.” Lance joked as he she stood. Keith watched silently as Lance fought with the zipper of his wetsuit. Keith had to physically stop himself from looking any longer, before it got weird. He'd already been accused of being a creep, he didn’t want to make his resume any more impressive.  
Keith laughed and looked away. “Yep, you’ve got to put up with a creep for three long months!” He said as he watched Lance finally free himself from his wetsuit’s cold shackles, the wetsuit hung to Lance’s hips like a pair of pants as Lance let out a satisfied huff and threw the jumper over his head. Once his head was free, he poked his tongue out at Keith, earning a rude finger and an equally crude smile.   
Keith’s eyes wandered their way back down to the lighthouse. It was the last thing that was covered in the sun’s golden rays. Keith as caught off guard by its striking beauty and the way it demanded his entire attention. But Lance had other plans. He threw his wetsuit at Keith and nearly fell over laughing when it slapped against his back; he wasn’t sure what was more amusing, the noise or Keith expression. Before Keith could get up and fight Lance, he was being offered a hand up and a weary smile.   
“Those are fighting eyes, do you want to fight, Samurai?” Lance joked as Keith took his hand. Once he was standing Keith grabbed Lance’s wetsuit from his feet and hit Lance in the leg with it. He cried out in mock agony as he pretended to limp around.  
“Looks like the great Sharpshooter’s hailed defeat!” Keith said as he did some sort of hand gesture he’d seen on Karate Kid. Lance laughed and shot a finger gun at Keith. Keith watched mesmerised as lance blew away the smoke from his nonexistent gun’s muzzle.   
“The great Sharpshooter never admits defeat!” lance said as he edged towards Keith in a painstakingly slow manner. Before Keith had time to react, he was falling down the sandy dune. “The great Samurai has fallen, and so has his empire!” lance added as he skillfully slid down the dune.   
“Absolute despair, kill ever second born child!” Keith joked as he lay in the sand. Lance stood over him and smiled widely.   
“C’mon, I’m hungry and cold.” Lance said as he held out a hand for Keith. He took it and once he was upright, he elbowed lance, causing the boy to burst out in laughter. The two boys waked up the worn driftwood path. Laughing at each other as they stubbed their toes on the uneven pieces of driftwood. Keith felt a little bit better about it because lance had lived there for his entire life and he still hadn’t figured out a way to get from pillar to post without stubbing his toes.

**Author's Note:**

> wattpad- creased  
> insta- creased.jpg  
> tumblr- thot-tea-ana


End file.
